Semperit reaffirms plans to delay gloves business divestment 

Vienna – Semperit Holding has reaffirmed that it now intends to retain its Sempermed latex gloves business until mid-2021 at least.

The Austrian group announced its ‘strategic decision’ to divest the business in January this year, but has since delayed the process due to the “extremely positive” contribution of the unit to overall earnings.

In its latest quarterly update on 19 Nov, Semperit said the group would continue to keep the medical unit “at least until mid-2021”.

However, Semperit said it still believed that the effects of the global pandemic on the gloves unit to be “of limited sustainability” and would therefore adhere to its strategic decision to focus on industrial rubber products. 

Having undergone a major restructuring since the beginning of 2020, and buoyed by a surge in demand following the Covid pandemic, Sempermed has reported a staggering rise in earnings in the first nine months of the year.

EBITDA (earnings) for the first three quarters rose to €67.3 million, from €5.6 million reported in 2019. Segment sales grew 27.5% to €288 million, helped by higher volumes.